1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector assembly and, more particularly, to a connector assembly having a pair of male and female connectors in which the male connector and the female connector are coupled to electrically connect terminals provided in the male and female terminals, and which reduces the coupling force of the male and female connectors using the spring tension of the spring member, and can be coupled with a single action.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a general connector assembly, male and female connectors are manually coupled, and wire harnesses with plural terminals in each single connector are used to minimize the number of connectors, or to conversely maximize the number of terminals that can be connected with a single operation in order to increase job productivity. As the number of terminals per connector increases, however, so does the strength or force required to assure a positive connection.
Various connectors have therefore been proposed as a means of reducing the coupling force required with such connectors. For example, in the connector shown in FIG. 7, a lever 2 comprising a guide channel 2a is provided in one of the connectors 1, and a boss 4 engaging this guide channel 2a is provided in the other connector 3.
When the connectors are coupled, the one connector 1 is inserted partially into the other lever 2 to a semi-inserted position, and the lever 2 is then turned. The boss 4 is thus guided into the guide channel 2a by rotation of the lever 2 using the simple principle of a lever and fulcrum. As a result, the worker can positively couple the male and female terminals with less manual strength required compared with manually inserting the connector 1 all the way into the other connector 3. (Japanese Patent laid-open Publication No. 2-278674.)
The problem with this conventional connector is that two operations, partial insertion and lever 2 rotation, are required to couple the connectors. It is also possible for the worker to forget to turn the lever 2, resulting in a partially inserted, partially coupled condition that can lead to faulty connections.
In addition, the lever 2 is held by an engaging member 5 in a semi-fixed position from which the boss 4 can be aligned with the guide channel 2a before the lever 2 is turned. During shipping, however, an external force applied to the lever 2 can release this semi-fixed position, allowing the lever 2 to rotate and close the guide channel 2a. When this happens, the worker must turn the lever 2 back to the open, semi-fixed position before the boss 4 can be aligned with the guide channel 2a and the coupling completed.
In addition to connectors that reduce the required coupling force by means of a lever mechanism, connectors that have a gear 9 provided on the leading edge of a lever 8 in one connector 7 to engage a rack 11 provided on the inside bottom of the other connector 10 have also been proposed as a way to reduce the required coupling force. (Japanese Utility Model laid-open Publication No. 63-99788.)
In addition to the extreme complexity of this gear 9 and rack 11 construction, however, the large number of components required increases the cost and minimizes the practical benefits of this design.